


Green Thumb

by canadino



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, plantsuku, treesuku, tsumugi lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28620396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canadino/pseuds/canadino
Summary: Tasuku gets turned into a literal tree.
Relationships: Takatoo Tasuku/Tsukioka Tsumugi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	Green Thumb

One morning, Tsumugi woke up and discovered Tasuku had turned into a tree. 

Of course, Tsumugi did not realize immediately that Tasuku had turned into a tree. He sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and turned to see that there was a yucca tree in a simple ceramic pot sitting on Tasuku’s bed. The covers had been pulled back. The clothes that Tasuku had fallen asleep in were scattered around the base of the pot. Tsumugi wondered why Tasuku would have placed a plant on his mattress, which would have required thought and the whole process of hauling it up the ladder to their raised beds. Furthermore, as Tsumugi had mentioned multiple times, it was important to keep a plant on a flat, sturdy surface. Even the slightest incline could mean trouble when gravity decided it had had enough. 

Tsumugi stared at the yucca, perturbed. The yucca stared back. Its leaves stuck firmly upward, steadfast and unyielding. Its trunk was thick and strong. There was something formidable about the yucca. “Tasuku?” Tsumugi said. 

“I’ve been turned into a tree,” Tasuku the yucca tree said. 

“Oh, so you’re a talking tree,” Tsumugi said. 

“When I came to this morning, I was like this,” Tasuku said. It pleased Tsumugi to learn his plants could perceive him and possibly appreciate his efforts to cultivate and foster them. The knowledge was enough that he decided not to question how it was possible for Tasuku to see with no eyes and speak with no mouth. His voice was coming from the direction of the yucca. “It’s a good thing we don’t have any shows planned soon.” 

“That’s the first thing you thought of?” Tasuku carried a lot of the soil and stone planters that Tsumugi used, so he was surprised when Tsumugi came and lifted the tree, pot and all, easily and carried it to the common area. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, as Tsumugi was strong in his own right. A part of him felt proud; cultivated muscles were good. His leaves rustled a little. “Everyone, we have a problem,” Tsumugi said. The rest of Winter Troupe was conveniently chatting over coffee and finishing a late breakfast. 

“That is a beautiful tree, Tsumugi,” Azuma said. 

“Thank you,” Tsumugi said, taking the complement. “But that’s not the issue. You see, this tree...is Tasuku.” 

“He makes a splendid tree,” Azuma said. 

“His straight trunk and glossy leaves inspire words in me,” Homare said. He began scribbling quickly on a nearby napkin. 

“Takato must be suffering, unable to train his body like that,” Guy said. “Though plants do move on their own. I wonder if it’s possible for them to train doing that?”

“You’ve all accepted this?” Tasuku the yucca asked incredulously. 

“Stranger things have happened in this dorm,” Hisoka said, helping himself to another coffee-flavored marshmallow. 

“Well, we certainly can’t leave things as they are!” Izumi insisted, passionately speaking up. “If we’re only down to Omi and Guy, that’s fewer options in case we need someone to help carry heavy stuff! Also, while the rest of the company is popular in their own right, we do benefit from the spillover of God-za fans who come to support Tasuku. And they’re the type to spend the most on merch!”

“I’m also an actor,” Tasuku grumbled. 

“Of course you are,” Tsumugi said soothingly, patting his trunk. Although it felt nice to be acknowledged and validated by Tsumugi, Tasuku couldn’t help but feel condescended to, especially in front of the rest of the troupe. He wasn’t sure if it was better or worse that he was in tree form. “Acting aside, your family will be worried about you, and there’s no way a human can live out the rest of their life as a plant. You aren’t in a Greek myth. Do you know how this could have happened to you? Did you offend someone?”

“No one in the dorms can use magic,” Tasuku said, although he did think about the time he walked into the living room and caught Kumon whispering something about spells and hellfire under his breath. Kumon had screamed and turned red and started babbling upon seeing him, but he was certain the Hyodo family didn’t have it in their blood to actually curse someone besides Banri. Chikage also rubbed him the wrong way, but Hisoka was his fellow troupe member, which allowed him some protection. Might Citron have some exotic hexes at his fingertips? But Guy would have noticed and would have more to contribute than a comment about exercising. Tasuku sadly began thinking about his missed morning run. “Oh...but there is someone who could have done this…” 

It was a harrowing ride - with Tsumugi allowing Izumi to drive Tasuku’s truck as Tsumugi had not driven for a long time, and Tasuku spent the whole time trembling in fear for his truck which he still wanted to drive once he returned to his human state - but they reached Reni Kamikizaka’s house in one piece. Reni met them in his parlor room and laughed. “Yes, I turned Tasuku into a tree,” he admitted. 

“The power,” Izumi said. Tasuku did not miss the awe in her voice, with a complete absence of anger or fear. 

“Please turn him back,” Tsumugi petitioned. “Tasuku is a vital member of Winter Troupe. As much as we can ask our scriptwriter to write in important tree roles, he is more dynamic as a human actor.” 

“I will not,” Reni said. “But also it is out of my hands. I may be a spellcaster, but there are limits to my power to prevent me from becoming a true force to be reckoned with. In fact, it is up to Tasuku to return to being human again. He will only become human when he is in the presence of that which he loves.” Smugly, Reni waited for Tasuku to renounce his membership in Mankai Company. While Reni admitted that Tasuku was still growing to his full potential in the young theater group, it could not be denied that Tasuku must still miss the opportunities and talent in God-za. For a hotblooded actor, Tasuku had to know that God-za was the only place he could act among equals and elevate his art to a higher level. 

Tsumugi knelt down to face Tasuku the yucca, sitting in his pot at their feet. “Tasuku, since you’re a tree, you must not be in the presence of what you love. That makes me sad, but...it doesn’t matter. Even if we can’t find that for you to return you to human form, I love you regardless of what shape you take.” He leaned his head against the leaves. 

With a cloud of smoke, Tasuku returned to being human. He found himself clothed, much to his relief - he would have quit on the spot if he was seen naked by his former and current director like this. 

“What?” Reni sputtered. 

Tasuku would have been embarrassed to be caught naked, but that shame did not extend to his much awaited confession. “I love you too, Tsumugi,” he said. “And I have for a long time. But I held myself back, because we are childhood friends and I didn’t want to ruin that connection if you didn’t feel the same. But now that I know you love me back, I can love freely - and in your presence.” God-za had taught him well on how to deliver a powerful, moving speech. 

“Oh, Ta-chan,” Tsumugi said, throwing himself into his arms. “It’s good to be able to touch you again. Although, to be honest...you were a very nice, healthy tree. I wasn’t lying when I said I could love you as a tree. This is okay, too.” 

(“You need to pay up for emotional damages,” Izumi said, advancing on Reni. Reni was too proud to cower, though he did shrink into his seat at her approach. Yukio was a handsome man, able to wrap anyone around his finger to do his bidding, and his daughter was an equally handsome woman. Reni pressed his knees together, squirming. “How do you suggest we resolve this so we can all have a happy ending?”)

**Author's Note:**

> I really thought my days of turning characters into animals or inanimate objects was over. But shetland pony AU (for anyone holding over from my KNB days) is so yesterday. It's treesuku AU time. 
> 
> Also, I hope for endgame Sakyo/Izumi but Act 9 and tsundere Reni got me like hmm...


End file.
